Indian Navy is scripting a new saga of Bharat’s rise in the high seas

“Organised force alone enables the quiet and the weak to go about their business and to sleep securely in their beds, safe from the violent without or within." American naval officer and historian Alfred Thayer Mahan had written these words in the late nineteenth century in his famous book, The Influence of Sea Power upon History, which examined the role of American and European naval power in shaping world history. The maintenance of a credible naval power indeed leads a country to prosper, as its people can focus on economic activities due to the resultant peace. Although Mahan’s book was situated in a western context, if we look at the events on the high seas in the last week, these words resonate more with the role of the Indian Navy in not just fulfilling its commitment to the people of India but also emerging as a trusted security partner in the Indian Ocean region. In a single week alone, Indian warships have rescued around 60 seafarers safely from Somali pirates and Houthi terrorists across the Gulf of Aden. On Monday this week, the Indian Navy’s warship INS Sumitra successfully saved Al Naemi, a fishing vessel that was carrying 19 Pakistani nationals. This rescue operation took place in the Southern Arabian Sea, approximately 850 nautical miles off Kochi’s coast. In yet another incident of a fishing vessel coming under attack from Somali pirates, the Indian Navy also conducted a rescue mission to save Iranian vessel FV Iman in the Arabian Sea. This incident also took place the same day when INS Sumitra received a distress signal from the vessel, leading to its prompt action to save the 17-member crew. In the last few weeks, the Indian Navy has deployed around 10 warships in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden due to a spate of pirate attacks as well as drone and missile attacks by the Houthi rebels. While Somali pirates are an ever-present threat to the merchant vessels in the sea, the Houthi rebels have emerged as a significant challenge recently due to the ongoing conflict in the Red Sea. The Houthis had originally started their attacks on the southern part of Israel as well as its ships in the Red Sea as a spillover of the Israel-Hamas war that had ensued in October. But now they have started attacking merchant vessels in the region, even if they belong to countries other than Israel. Just a fortnight ago, more than 50 merchant vessels came under attack from the Houthi rebels, who launched a barrage of drones and missiles at them. The Red Sea is home to Bab-el-Mandeb, a key maritime choke-point of the global economy. It connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is part of a sea route that carries several billion tonnes of cargo every year, whose total value exceeds $1 trillion, according to the estimates. Due to the Houthi threat, merchant vessels are being forced to take a long detour via the Cape of Good Hope in order to avoid the Red Sea route. This has increased the cost by at least $1 million due to additional fuel, adding around 3500 nautical miles due to the detour. On the night of January 26, the Indian Navy came into swift action when a similar merchant vessel, MV Merlian Luanda, belonging to the United Kingdom, came under attack from a Houthi anti-ship missile. India’s guided missile destroyer, INS Visakhapatnam, responded to its distress call and rescued the 23 crew members on board. As events of the last week are testament, the Indian Navy has come to acquire an important role in the security of high seas from elements such as pirates as well as terrorists. The current times are anyway difficult for maritime trade, as first the Russia-Ukraine conflict obstructed transport in the Black Sea, leading to serious inflation and food shortages around the world, and now the US-Iran proxy war in the Red Sea has posed a new challenge. Due to the Houthi threat in the Red Sea, the attention of other navies has shifted away from Somali pirates, who are now emboldened to create frequent and bigger troubles. Since November, at least five large commercial ships have witnessed assaults off Somalia’s coast. In such a grim scenario, India and its naval force have played a huge role in ensuring maritime safety. Thanks to the Indian Navy, not only have three major incidents been averted in the last week, but it has also generated a lot of goodwill for India across the globe. India’s efforts have garnered praise from many quarters, including from leading Open Source Intelligence expert Damien Symon, Martin Sauerbrey, a researcher based in Graz (Austria), and Mark Urban, a senior journalist. Almost all of them say that India is an emerging power, and it is showing more commitment towards maritime security in the region than China. Similarly, the English-language media may not have covered India’s achievements in the high seas with much enthusiasm, but other foreign media, including the Russian, Persian, Arabic, Spanish, French, and even Turkish and Chinese media, have praised India’s efforts in rescuing seafarers from Somali pirates and Houthi rebels. The conduct of the Indian Navy in recent times is part of India’s vision to emerge as a preferred security partner in the Indian Ocean. Since 2008, India has been conducting anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. In the last fifteen years, it has not only prevented pirates from capturing merchant vessels and taking their crew hostage, but it has also safely escorted multiple ships through a transit corridor in the region. Interestingly, India is one of the few countries in the world that has anti-piracy legislation in the form of the Maritime Anti-Piracy Act, 2022. India’s dedication to provide maritime security in the Indian Ocean region is a strong sign of its great power ambitions. Every single great power in the last few centuries has not only claimed to have naval prowess, but it has also demonstrated the ability to secure oceans. After all, oceans are the lifeline of modern trade due to their cost-effectiveness. Whether it was Pax Britannica or Pax Americana, each era of world history had superpowers watching over the oceans to ensure the safety of global trade movements. A similar role is now being played by India as well. If the Indian Ocean doesn’t feature in the ‘high-risk area’ list of the International Maritime Organisation anymore, then a lot of credit for this goes to India and its naval force. The author is a PhD from the Department of International Relations, South Asian University. She writes on India’s foreign policy. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .